3 ex-CJIs echo judge’s claim on SC collegium

Transparency and consensus are needed in the Supreme Court collegium proceedings for selecting judges, three former CJIs have said in support of Justice J Chelameswar`s unprecedented decision to stay away from collegium meetings.During their tenure as CJIs, they had never faced a problem in achieving consensus among members of the collegium, they said.Each believed in free and frank discussion on merits and demerits of a person in the zone of consideration and they said names were recommended only when there was a consensus. Justice Sathasivam, now governor of Kerala, said transparency as well as consensus are two crucial aspects of any selection process, more so when persons are selected for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court or the high courts.Justice Lodha said smooth functioning of the collegium depends on two crucial aspects — the head of the institution (CJI) and the attempt to find consensus. "It takes time to find consensus. Before placing a name before the collegium, adequate material on antecedents, merit and capability of the person must be collected from every possible source. There should be free and frank exchange of views.